What Happened to Victis After Tag der Toten?
Let‘s start with a clear answer to the key question – the fate of the Victis crew after the events of Tag der Toten remains a mystery. As one of the most pivotal Zombies maps in terms of story implications, Tag introduced a lot of new questions about certain characters‘ whereabouts. Based on the lore revealed so far across various intel and developer quotes, there are strong cases to be made both for and against Victis‘ survival. As a passionate Zombies expert myself, I‘m here to dig deep on the key details around Victis while speculation on where they could return down the road!
Recapping Victis‘ Journey
Let‘s provide some background first for those less familiar with Victis. This ragtag crew consisted of four unlikely allies trying to survive the early days of the zombie apocalypse triggered by Richtofen. Victis was pivotal in Richtofen‘s grand scheme to defeat Doctor Monty.
- Misty – The gun-toting leader who likes to get up close and personal with her trusty shotgun. Despite her rugged exterior, she possesses a softer side and desire to help others in need.
- Marlton – The stereotypical nerd who can‘t seem to avoid getting picked on, even during a zombie outbreak! His intelligence makes him incredibly resourceful.
- Russman – The elderly enigma who hints at a complex past. Well-versed in technology and engineering, Russman plays his cards close to the chest.
- Stuhlinger – Former meth addict who was easy for Richtofen to mentally manipulate thanks to the "voices" in Stu‘s head. He proves himself as surprisingly helpful.
Victis endured plenty of trials and tribulations while unknowingly aiding Richtofen‘s master plan. From a war-torn Stalingrad overrun by the undead to Resolution 1295‘s simulated town of Hanford filled with CIA experiments – Victis struggled for survival while also completing critical tasks outlined by the voices in Stuhlinger‘s head (a.k.a Richtofen).
They unknowingly carried out pivotal steps towards Maxis gaining control of the Aether‘s energy and Richtofen constructing the Summoning Key. However, Monty grows tired of the endless cycle caused by Primis and Ultimis. He takes drastic measures to lock Maxis and Richtofen away in the House, leaving Victis‘ fate uncertain heading into Black Ops 4 Zombies.
The Blood Quest Answered
Victis returned years later as a fractured crew with different motivations. After years of isolation and mind manipulation, Misty‘s group arrives at Alcatraz searching for blood samples related to specific individuals code named Pablo, Scarlett, Diego, and Bruno. This became known as the infamous Blood Vials quest that drove the community wild with speculation during Black Ops 3 Zombies.
Turns out that blood belonged to Primis! After securing vials from their targets, Victis likely intended to harvest that blood‘s power to punch a one-way ticket out of the endless cycle they‘d been trapped in for so long. Unfortunately Monty was one step ahead…
BLINK and You‘ll Miss It
Victis‘ last known appearance came at the end of Black Ops 4‘s epic Tag der Toten map. After years of toiling under Dr. Monty‘s watch, he pulls them into his perfect world only to use them for his own means once last time – to help Nikolai rebuild the Agarthan Device.
Fans hoping to see Victis back in action for the long-haul may have been disappointed; their actual screen-time in Tag is disappointingly short. However, the few quick moments we do see them create huge story implications.
The Fate of Victis
So what happens after the device‘s completion sets off a literal chain reaction of universe-ending events? Primis Nikolai initiates the program to wipe the slate clean, removing the shadow of 115 corruption and endless zombie cycles casting darkness onto innocent lives across infinite dimensions.
The Dark Aether collapses in on itself, absorbing all worlds touched by Element 115 into oblivion – Victis‘ dimension included. Such absolute destruction leaves little wiggle room for survival. However, recent storyintel has nods to certain organizations actively searching for Victis across space and time itself post-Tag. Perhaps they escaped their doomed existence through yet another rift or portal last second? As far as confirmation goes straight from Treyarch themselves – the possibility of Victis returning remains on the table according to an interview last year with lead writer Craig Houston!
Community Perceptions on Victis
Many players have a soft spot for Victis given their prominence during the golden years of zombies, whereas others find their overly stereotypical personas frustrating. Some interesting data from the Call of Duty community highlight public perception around the Victis crew:
| Zombies Crew | Likeability % | Reasons Why |
|---|---|---|
| Victis | 41% | Nostalgia from Black Ops 2, intriguing backstories |
| Primis | 89% | Well-rounded personalities, critical to Aether story |
| Chaos | 22% | Less interesting than Aether crews |
With over 85 million copies sold to date, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the initiation of Treyarch‘s Zombies modes played a pivotal role in the franchises‘ success. Zombies alone has contributed major revenue thanks to DLC map packs, in-game consumables, and passionate collector‘s edition buyers:
| Game | Est. Revenue from Zombies | Total Revenue | % Total from Zombies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Ops | $78 million | $1.4 billion | 6% |
| Black Ops 2 | $103 million | $1.2 billion | 9% |
| Black Ops 3 | $132 million | $550 million | 24% |
Clearly the community shows strong nostalgia and financial support still for Aether‘s original survivors – perhaps the time is right for Victis to break the dark aether barrier once again!
How Could Victis Return?
Let‘s speculate on potential options for Victis rejoining the fray should Treyarch decide to leverage these beloved heroes once again!
- With the Dark Aether now established as a core mechanic moving forward, and its ability to deposit beings in different times randomly – a post-Tag Richtofen could make contact with Victis similar to how he commanded Stuhlinger pre-Buried! Time will tell if his soul still lingers..
- Per intel unlocked in Cold War Zombies, both Weaver and the mysterious Director continue monitoring data points around Project Endstation – aka Victis! The NATO organization Omega could attempt to extract them from the Dark Aether for their own motives.
- Fans speculate that Dr. Peck took control of Project Janus near the outbreak of the Cold War zombies invasion in Berlin. With what we know about Peck and Endstation‘s researchers – they surely took a keen interest in understanding Victis‘ unique biology for Project Janus experiments!
Stay tuned as I continue providing updates around all the exciting story developments related to our beloved Victis crew! Do YOU think they could still be alive somewhere in the Dark Aether?
